Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for June 08, 2022

One way or another, Rat wants to be better off.

Happiness is relative.

Schadenfreude

That is the spirit of the Dow Jones, isn’t it?

Please make the stock I invested in go up and please make the stock I shorted go down.

“Dear lord, if you won’t help me, for heaven’s sakes don’t help that bear!” —From the Andy Griffith song, “The Preacher and the Bear”

Sad, but a very prevalent attitude!

Rat thinks like Klaus Schwab. What’s the point of being rich if everyone else is too?

It’s my life and I do what I want.

Dear Rat,

We chose your second option.

We gave everyone you.

Sincerely, Powers That Be in the Universe

“Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble”!

Someone seems to hear Rat’s prayers.

Rat proves that wishes can and do come true.

Whatever works, Rat.

How about both?

If Rat isn’t happy, nobody deserves to be happy.

That is the MAGA philosophy, make everyone else miserable as them.

Make the universe great again.

If your happiness depends on how you stack up against others, you may always find a way to be disappointed.

You make your own happiness

Ah, so Rat’s a socialist! It all makes sense now!

I would have expected nothing less from Rat.

I feel evil relating with rat here, but I do relate

take my wife, please

♪♫ “Oh Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz…” ♫♪

Dear Rat, How ’bout no? Signed, Powers That Be in the Universe.

It’s just great to get behind someone like this on the highway. Speed up when you can pass, slow way down when you cannot. Guess they want to make you as miserable as they are.

“The Blues isn’t about making yourself feel better. It’s about making other people feel worse.” Bleeding Gums Murphy

I want the same thing as rat

Is that the republigun plan for the USA?

“It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.” — Gore Vidal

Happiness is a warm superiority complex

Ah, he is channeling Somerset Maughm (via Bennet Cerf) :

“Octogenarian Somerset Maugham told a visitor to his French Riviera estate recently, ‘Now that I’ve grown old, I realize that for most of us it is not enough to have achieved personal success. One’s best friend must also have failed.’ "

The Book: What to do if you find yourself stuck with no hope of rescue: Consider yourself lucky that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn’t been good to you so far, which given your present circumstances seems more likely, consider yourself lucky that it won’t be troubling you much longer.

I’m not sure where this goes but, 30 minutes ago Mudd said,

Ha,haa.

Rat thinks he lives in a zero-sum universe. Over the years, I’ve met a few miserable people who think the same.

Sort of like the rising tide thing.

They both make rat look good!!!!

Maybe I missed a similar comment, but I think the only way that our individual lives can be made better is if that is the general trend in society.

Schadenfreude all over again….

If misery loves company, and two is company but three is a crowd, then misery loves two. Unless you are Jack Tripper.

Not gonna happen, Rat. The (PBS) Universe doesn’t like you….

That’s not how life works.

Unhappiness is relatives.

And so, the pandemic was born.